SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 13 (AScribe Newswire) -- Alaska, Arkansas,
Kentucky, North Dakota, and Utah are the five best states in the
country to be an animal abuser, according to a new report released
today by the Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF). Based on a detailed
comparative analysis of more than 2,800 pages of statutes, tracking 14
distinct categories of provisions, the report recognizes the states
where laws protecting animals have real teeth, and calls out those
like Kentucky -- the single worst in the nation this year for animal
protection laws -- where animal abusers get off easy. The annual
report, the only one of its kind in the nation, ranks all 50 states
and the District of Columbia for the general comprehensiveness and
relative strength of their respective animal protection laws.

Why are these five states in the dog house when it comes to getting
tough on animal abusers? The legislative weaknesses seen in the states
at the bottom of the animal protection barrel include severely
restricted or absent felony animal cruelty provisions, inadequate
animal fighting provisions, and lack of restrictions on the future
ownership of animals for those convicted of cruelty to animals. ...